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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · board · bass · cold · land · game · suit · mate

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bass — low music
  5. band — a ring
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cold — not warm
  8. land — a country
  9. mate — a friend
  10. band — a music group
  11. board — to get on
  12. suit — to fit
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mate — a partner
  16. game — wild animals
  17. suit — in cards
  18. suit — clothes
  19. land — to come down
  20. game — a match
  21. board — a committee
  22. land — ground
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. bass — the instrument

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com